There's this scene in Nope, directed by auteur Jordan Peele and which has just crashed into the Netflix top 10 chart this week, that genuinely gave me nightmares. I'd take that as a mark of success, given this movie isn't your standard horror flick by any means.
Frankly I'm not a horror fan. I prefer to keep my heart in my chest (unless I'm exercising). And while you might be forgiven for taking the lead image of this very article as a grab from a Wes Anderson movie, in Nope you'll find a movie of an entirely different calibre and intent.
Indeed, Nope is brilliant cinema that had me hooked – and other non-horror fans will have plenty to get their (alien?) teeth into here. Check out the must-watch trailer below to get a taste of what to expect (it's definitely one for when the kids have gone to bed!).
Nope is spearheaded by the spectacular Daniel Kaluuya, also of Peele's previous Get Out. The director's previous movie was received to riotous claim – landing a mega 98% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Very different flicks, I can assure you, but with the main star delivering the goods both times.
In Nope, Kaluuya commands the role of OJ – which he plays as much through gesture as he does from the limited script. That quietness translates well as an echo of the movie's landscape: described by some as a 'neo-Western', its American outback location is a spectacle in and of itself.
Genre-wise, however, aside from the obvious moments of horror, Nope has plenty of chase movie elements, scenes that will have thriller fans chomping at the bit, yet wraps that all together with distinctive style thanks to cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema – a Nolan go-to, of Dunkirk and Oppenheimer fame – who shot the movie using 65mm Kodak film and IMAX cameras.
That it's such a melting pot has left critics and audiences not quite in agreement about their thoughts: on Rotten Tomatoes, Nope scores 83% with the former, but just 69% with the latter. Generally speaking, most find the movie's 'slower than your average' pace to be their reasoning. So it's less of a critical hit than Get Out, but I still think it's very much worth your time.
Given that Nope is, on the face of it, about an otherworldly phenomenon, presumably of alien origin, you might be expecting more quick-fire moments of mayhem throughout. But I think part of the point is its brooding nature: that it builds, peaks and troughs, while threading its subplot of exploitation – human, animal, other – is a process that takes time. Because once you're in, there are a couple of scenes that are haunting and nightmarish (for me, literally).
So if you fancy a psychological horror-thriller to add to your Netflix to-watch list then Nope is worthy of a 'yup'. Just don't blame me if you, too, struggle to sleep after. At least Netflix, as one of the best streaming services, has plenty of other, chirpier shows to watch too: check out the 5 best to watch this month here.
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